Draco Malfoy and the Misguided Heart
by Nadenshka
Summary: Cerise Ashthorn falls at Draco Malfoy's feet.
1. A Letter of Invitation

**Cerise**

A pale, gaunt face glared at me accusingly. His eyes bored into my soul, and he screamed at me "Why? Why did you do this to me, you WITCH?"

Wings fluttered, waking me from my nightmare.

Could it be? Already?

Today was my 12th birthday, and I was waiting for an invitation from Hogwarts! An owl swooped down from the open window, and dropped the parchment on my duvet.

"Cerise Ashthorn,

We would like to invite you to attend Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Magic"

My eyes watered, and my hands trembled. This moment was what I had been waiting for since I found out I was a witch! Well, I am muggleborn, but I do have magic!

Taking a closer look at the parchment, my heart sank. My imagination got the best of me sometimes.

"Cerise Ashthorn,

We would like to invite you to attend the Ministry of Magic to be present at a hearing for the misuse of Magic on the 29th of August. Do not be late.

Cornelius Fudge."

Stifling a sob, I stashed the letter where my parents wouldn't find it. Perfect timing, they burst into my room with a cake. "Happy Birthday Cherry!" They looked so happy for me, I couldn't bear to give them the bad news. "We saw the owl! Congratulations darling! If you like, we'll even drop you off at Diagon Alley this afternoon!"

"Thank you! You guys are the best!" I had to keep a charade going, I couldn't disappoint them like this.

"Bye sweetie! We'll pick you up in a few hours, OK?"

I waved to them until they were out of sight. Sighing, I leant against the brick wall that led into Diagon Alley. My backpack pushed into the correct brick somehow, and I fell backwards into the feet of some wizards.

"Well well, what _rabble_ do we have here?" A tall, blond man sneered down at me. His miniature clone, albeit with shorter hair, imitated his sneer. I got to my feet, brushed myself off, and took a closer look at these snobs.

"Cerise Ashthorn, at your service," I bowed mockingly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be."

"Oh, by places, I assume you mean that hearing which you must attend?" The father smirked. I froze. "Oh yes dear, I know about you and your little, shall we say, mishap?" I had to get out of here. Pushing past the younger one, I made it to the main alley, and headed straight for Ollivander's Wand Shop. Perhaps I would be safe from them there.

I was wrong; the little snob followed me, sans father, and cornered me in the store. "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself, extending his hand. Warily, I shook it. "Sorry about my father back there, he can be a little… snooty at times."

"What kind of a name is Malfoy Draco Malfoy?" I asked him. Malfoy snickered. "There is a lot I must teach you, Cerise. I introduce with my last name, as it carries more weight than my first name. Now, where have I heard Ashthorn before? Are you of an ancient pureblood family?"

He looked hopeful, expecting me to say yes. "Um, I don't know" I mumbled.

"How could you not know?!" Draco exclaimed. "Ugh, oh alright then, I suppose I'll have to take you under my wing. A fragile one such as yourself wouldn't last a second at Hogwarts."

"I'm..not…" I whispered. "You're not what, Ashthorn? Not coming? Well you better." He finished my sentence for me.

Dragging me through all sorts of odd stores, he made sure we both had the correct equipment for our first year at Hogwarts. These would make great souvenirs to come home to from my regular school this year. Finally, we were at the bookstore, which was filled up by a giant man, and a young, dark haired boy.

"Alrighty then Harry! Come this way now, will yeh" The giant ushered the boy along.

Draco tugged on my sleeve. "That's Harry Potter! The famous Harry Potter!" He whispered.

Harry paused and frowned, as if he heard his name being said, then turned to leave the store. His eyes met mine for a fraction of a second; they were full of excitement, confusion and awe. I wished that I would be put in the same house as him, then I realised. I would never be in his house, nor any house for that matter.

 **Draco**

I was starstruck. The Boy who Lived, _The_ Harry Potter, was casually standing merely meters away. I tugged on Cerise's sleeve.

"That's Harry Potter! The famous Harry Potter!" I whispered to her fervently. He must be the greatest wizard ever, having faced the Dark Lord and lived. I had read the articles of his feat at least 10 times! My father disapproved of my admiration of Potter because it was "weakness" in his eyes. I didn't care. Harry and I would be great allies, perhaps even friends, at Hogwarts, and together we would make our mark on the wizarding history books.

He turned, paused, and walked out of the store. I had to introduce myself to him, and give a good first impression. I'd have my chance on the train to Hogwarts, perhaps I would sit in the same cabin as him.

Cerise looked at her watch, and gasped. "Oh no, my parents will be waiting to pick me up! I must go back!"

"I'll take you back, then." I offered. She smiled gratefully, and turned to leave the store as well.

A piece of paper fluttered out of her jacket pocket. "Hey, wait, you dropped…" I picked it up, surprised that she carried her Hogwarts letter with her – it would have been safer at her home.

Wait a minute, this wasn't an acceptance letter – this was summons for a hearing at the Ministry of Magic! I remembered the snide comment my father had made to her earlier, and now it all made sense.

"You used magic accidentally, and the Ministry of Magic wants to charge you with it?" I exclaimed.

She spun around. "How did you… Oh." Tears brimmed; she must have been carrying this burden for a while. "I should have told you before, that I'm not… I'm not going to Hogwarts." The tears spilled over, and streaked down her face.

I scoffed lightly. "Oh you silly fragile thing. You should have told me earlier! From my knowledge, you couldn't be banned from Hogwarts for something as small as accidental magic use!"

That sentence only seemed to worsen things. She snatched the paper from my hand, and ran for the exit of Diagon Alley. "I can help you! Please, let me be there for you," I called after her. Without slowing down, she raced through the exit, and disappeared from my world.

 **Cerise**

And I thought he was nice. He must have stolen my letter from me when I was off-guard. That utter bastard, making me cry in public like that. As I ran towards the exit, I heard his smug, mocking scoff over and over, along with "you silly thing." I should never have spoken to him. I felt more tears run down my face.

I wiped at my eyes when I walked through the exit, and saw my parents waiting by the car. "Cerise! What perfect timing! We just got here!" They smiled at me.

Just as I was loading my books, or should I say souvenirs, into the car, Draco appeared. "Please, I never meant to laugh at your situation. I know you must be scared, but it will be ok!" He tried to explain himself. I glared at him. I trusted him, and he mocked me.

"Oh, who's your friend, Cherry?" My mother discovered Draco.

"Pleasure, Mrs Ashthorn, I am Draco Malfoy." He extended his hand, like he was a gentleman or something. "I just met your daughter in Diagon Alley."

Mom gave me the look of "ooh he's cute."

"I would like to ask for permission to accompany Cerise when she goes for the hearing at the Ministry of Magic" Draco asked her surprisingly politely, although his words were about to ruin what should have been the best day of my life.

"Hearing? Ministry of Magic? What's this young man talking about, Cerise? You're going to Hogwarts in 2 days' time!" My mother exclaimed.

My eyes began to water. "I'm sorry mom, but I'm not actually going to Hogwarts. They want me to attend a hearing about the, uh, accident."

Draco piped up. "That's what I have been trying to tell you, they can't stop you from going to Hogwarts for accidentally using a bit of magic!"

"This wasn't just any accident, Draco," my mother told him. "Cerise, you should have told me sooner about this. I had no idea you were carrying this the whole time, and on your birthday too!" She patted my shoulder. "Everything will work out fine, I promise," she reassured me. For a moment, I believed her, but memories of the accident haunted me. They would never let me into Hogwarts if they knew what I did to that boy.


	2. The Accident - A Promise to Keep

_Earlier that year:_

 **Cerise**

May was a cold month, but the unforeseen snow made it perfect for playing outside. I wrapped up warm, and decided to roam the streets. Children laughed and screamed with fear of oncoming snowballs, and raced around the carless street without a care. I wandered towards an empty seat, and plonked down onto it, watching the carnage that was my street. In the corner of my eye, I saw some older boys walking towards my quiet corner. I thought nothing of it, so I shut my eyes, and fell asleep on the icy seat.

In my dream, I was in a jewellery store, trying on a pretty emerald necklace. It was a nice snug fit, and it was the perfect shade of green to match my eyes. The store attendant tightened the necklace further. "No, stop, it's already too tight" I tried to tell him. I began gasping for air, but the necklace was excruciatingly tight now. I struggled against the chain, hoping I would awaken from this terrible nightmare.

A child's scream of panic brought me to my senses. The tight feeling around my neck hadn't gone away, and I still couldn't breathe. It was then that I realised my nightmare was also reality. The bullies circled around me, one standing behind and holding the chain around my neck. I tried to breathe, to no avail. "C'mon, you're a witch, right?" The gaunt ringleader sneered at me. "Show us some magic, you bitch!" One of his lackeys spat at me. I kept struggling against the iron, trying to get some air into my lungs. "A little birdy told us about your so called "magic," but us boys here think that you, ya little runt, were telling porkies for a reputation." The ringleader eyeballed me, and didn't give any sign of getting his lackey to stop choking me. "We don't like it when some fresh runt thinks they can steal our rep."

So this was how I was going to die.

I could barely hold my eyes open, and that horrendous chain was the only thing holding my head up. A force inside of me struggled, and broke loose. Magic. I already knew I was a witch, but I always believed you needed a wand for magic to work.

The chain loosened. I was now in control of the chain. It ripped itself out of the choker's hands, and moved, almost snakelike, to curl around the leader's neck. I was angry, infuriated, that these imbeciles tried to take my life for no real reason. I clenched my fist, and the chain tightened around the gaunt boy's neck. Standing up from the seat, I glared at the others, daring them to stop me.

"She…she…it's a witch!" They screamed, and they ran down the street, hopefully never to be seen again. I focused my glare on the one who squirmed next to me. He gasped, out of fear of me, and the chain that was restricting him. The boy struggled against the chain, and in that moment I felt strong, like I was at the top of the food chain. He finally stopped struggling, and reality sunk in of what I had just done to another human being. I was a despicable person, to stoop lower than the bullies and try kill one in return.

I released the flow of magic, and let the boy fall to the ground. I followed. That was how my parents found me, curled up in the snow, next to an unconscious boy with chain marks around both of our necks.

 _Present Day_

"So that's why you think you won't be allowed into Hogwarts" Draco looked at me hesitantly, as if I was going to run away again.

"Think? I know, Draco. I nearly killed a muggle with my magic!" I exclaimed.

"Cerise, you were defending yourself. I'm sure there was no lasting damage done – a bit of memory wiping from some Ministry of Magic officials will sort everything out!" He reassured me.

My mother stayed silent. I think that me being a witch was hard enough to accept, but random outbursts of angry magic scared her. Draco gently touched my arm. "Cerise, please let me come with you. It must have been hard in that situation, being without help. Well now I want to help you, so you won't be alone in that courtroom." He sounded so earnest, sincere, that I almost forgot about his mocking laugh at me earlier. Almost.

"OK, fine." I gave in. "Uh, so where exactly is it?"

He smirked irritably as if to say 'aren't you glad you let me tag along?' He was insufferable, but I appreciated the gesture of escorting me. I looked at my parents. "I'll call you when this is all over, OK?"

"Alright, Cherry! Please take care of our daughter, Draco." I rolled my eyes. Parents. Didn't the accident prove that I could take care of myself? Or maybe my parents wanted Draco to "look after" me so I didn't hurt any other muggles.

Draco offered his elbow, ever the gentleman, but I just frowned at him. "Fine, suit yourself," he muttered. "Just trying to be nice."

 **Draco**

Cerise's story threw me. I had no idea that such a fragile wee thing had nearly killed another, and had somehow carried that burden for months. As we set off for her hearing, I offered her my elbow, hoping that she would take it. Her hands were small, incapable of killing, and pale. Telling me, a complete stranger, a story like that, would have taken a lot of courage for one as fragile as her. My respect for her increased twofold.

She rejected my elbow, so we walked separately along the street. The Ministry of Magic's visitor entrance came into view. She tensed up and walked stiffly. I had to put her mind at ease somehow. We entered the lobby, and made it to the correct lift. Her hands were shaking slightly. I sighed. Putting my hands on her shoulders, I looked into her eyes and promised her that everything would work out. "Trust me on this one," I assured her. "Look, when we're on the Hogwarts train tomorrow, I'll buy you a Chocolate Frog!"

She smiled half-heartedly, and we stepped out of the elevator into the corridor. "This is as far as I can go, but you'll be fine! I'll wait right here for you, ok?" I vowed to her and myself that I would wait here for the good news. Cerise walked into the courtroom, and the large door closed with a hint of finality.

I waited for two hours. There must have been some intense discussion in that courtroom. I hoped Cerise was holding up alright, I knew she was more frightened than she let on. The doors creaked open, and Cerise stumbled out in a daze. I stood up, and walked to her side. She looked at me with teary eyes. "I'm going to Hogwarts tomorrow!" Cerise sounded baffled. We walked towards the elevator side by side.

"That's great! See, I knew everything would work out!" I smiled at her. She stopped walking. "I'm going to Hogwarts tomorrow!" She repeated. Her eyes brightened, and she began to grin. "It's my dream come true!" She almost squealed. I was shocked when she hugged me tightly, but as I went to hug her back, she pulled away. "Oops, sorry, I…just got really overexcited!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll learn to live with it," I smirked. Damn, hopefully I would get another chance soon. "Looks like I owe you that chocolate frog, huh?"


End file.
